Mudslide Buries More Than 350 in Afghan Village

Afghans search for survivors after a massive mudslide buried a village on May 2, 2014.

PHOTOGRAPHBY AHMAD ZUBAIR, AP

A mudslide overwhelmed a village in Afghanistan on Friday, killing more than 350 people, according to United Nations officials.

Thousands more are still missing, buried in the mudslide that struck the village, variously reported as Aab Barik or Hargu, in the Argo District of the remote Badakhshan Province in northeastern Afghanistan, near the border with Tajikistan.

Among the dead and missing are villagers who went to help their neighbors after an initial mudslide, "but unfortunately the hill collapsed a second time," provincial governor Shah Waliullah Adib told the Guardian.

The May 2 landslide in Badakhshan Province covered much of one village.

PHOTOGRAPH BY AHMAD ZUBAIR, AP

The mudslide covered some homes with more than 33 feet (10 meters) of mud, trapping thousands inside. "With some areas still difficult to access, it may be some time yet until a clear picture of the full extent of the damage is known," says the United Nations statement.